The San Diego County Board of Education approved a $12 million loan for the Sweetwater Union High School District.
The board voted 4-1 in favor of the loan. The cash-strapped district has until next June to pay it back.
Earlier this month the district told students and parents that it did not have enough working laptops to distribute to students enrolled at the high school and middle school levels and said it has not collected more than $600,000 in fees. The memo also states that 705 devices were not returned at the end of the last school year.
Students returned to class from summer break on July 22.
The district is millions of dollars in debt and has decided in recent months to eliminate 82 positions including bus drivers, custodians and people who help with Special Education. In addition, 30 bus stops have been eliminated, requiring students to walk to campus.
In February of this year the board revoked the district's fiscal accountability status, and took over control of all cash transactions. According to the board, the district had to borrow cash to meet operational needs.
The board said the district was already out of compliance with Education Code in because it closed the 2017-2018 fiscal year with an outstanding $7.9 million balance.
